How to Ship Precious Metals Safely – Comprehensive Investor Guide

 

How to Ship Precious Metals Safely

Whether you’re a new investor or a lifelong bullion collector, you will likely want to sell your precious metals eventually. While selling to local dealers can be a simple, straightforward day to liquidate your portfolio, many online dealers offer competitive prices and unparalleled convenience through their “buyback” programs.

When you sell precious metals online, shipping security is everything. The last thing you or your buyer wants is to see your valuable precious metals lost, stolen, or damaged during transit. Most online dealers give investors information about how to safely and securely package, ship, and insure their items. However, it’s never a bad idea for investors to familiarize themselves with how to safely transport precious metals.

On this page, learn about how to ship precious metals safely, the best shipping carriers to use, how to insure your precious metal shipments, and more.

Is It Legal to Ship Gold and Silver in the United States?

Let’s start with the basics. Yes, it’s completely legal to ship gold, silver, and other precious metals in the United States. As long as you are shipping within the United States and not crossing any international borders, there is no limit to the amount or monetary value of metals you can transport via a postal service.

There are some limitations on which gold and silver products can be shipped in the United States, but these rules don’t apply to the typical retail precious metals investor. Most notably, precious metals from embargoed countries are not allowed to be shipped through United States mail. In other words, unless you’re attempting to transport metals smuggled from Cuba, it isn’t against the law to ship precious metals in the U.S.

A Quick Note on International Shipping Laws

Shipping precious metals internationally is a bit trickier. Both the destination and origin country of your precious metals can play a role in how you can legally, safely, and securely ship them.

Any time you’re shipping something to a place outside of the borders of the United States, you will need to declare the monetary value of your shipment if it exceeds $10,000 USD. Other countries may also require declarations for shipments of certain monetary amounts of gold or silver, so be sure to learn the laws of the place you’re shipping your precious metals to before labeling and packaging them.

Depending on the size and value of your international bullion shipment, you may not be able to use standard shipping services. Many carriers require investors to use specialty courier services to insure large, valuable shipments of precious metals when shipping abroad.

Choosing the Right Carrier for Bullion

When it comes to shipping precious metals, choosing the right carrier is everything. While most large carriers in the United States are good enough for everyday packages, the value of your bullion shipment means that it’s important to take extra precautions.

The United States Postal Service (USPS) is generally considered the industry standard for shipping precious metals, although UPS and FedEx can also work in limited circumstances.

USPS Registered Mail – The Industry Standard

USPS is the industry standard for mailing precious metals in the United States. This is the case for a couple different reasons.

First, USPS is run by the U.S. government, so packages shipped through the service follow a legally mandated chain of custody. In other words, you’re less likely to have a package “disappear” when shipping through USPS, especially compared to most private carriers.

Second, USPS offers up to $50,000 in insurance coverage for packages shipped through USPS Registered Mail. This limit caps out at $5,000 for standard packages, making USPS Registered Mail an affordable but secure option for shipping valuable precious metals.

USPS Priority Mail Express vs. Registered Mail

USPS Priority Mail Express and Registered Mail are two popular methods of shipping precious metals through the United States Postal Service. While Registered Mail is considered the industry standard shipping option for large, valuable precious metal packages, USPS Priority Mail Express can work in some circumstances.

To choose between USPS Priority Mail Express and Registered Mail, consider the value of your package. USPS Priority Mail Express offers a base insurance coverage of $100 per package, and customers can purchase an additional coverage of up to $5,000 per package.

By contrast, USPS Registered Mail insures packages for up to $50,000 per package. Because of this greater coverage, Americans shipping using USPS Registered Mail must take additional steps to ensure their package’s safety, including paper gummed tape sealings, signed and stamped seams, and more.

Generally, we recommend opting for Registered Mail through USPS, which is the industry standard for shipping valuable precious metals.

When UPS or FedEx Makes More Sense

Private carriers like UPS or FedEx make sense for shipping precious metals if you’re on a tight timeline or want to take advantage of the sophisticated logistics and tracking infrastructures these companies offer.

Another reason to use a private carrier such as UPS or FedEx is if your dealer requires you to do so. Some dealers specify the shipping service they prefer, and opting for a different carrier can put your shipment at risk.

Next, we’ll take a closer look at both of these options, as well as their pros and cons.

USPS Insurance Limits Explained

The easiest option is to take advantage of the insurance offered by your package carrier. Insurance coverage varies both by carrier and the shipping option you choose to use. For example, USPS Priority Mail Express offers a base insurance of $100 per package with the option to purchase additional coverage up to $5,000 per package, while USPS Registered Mail insurance caps out at $50,000 per package.

Insurance coverage for packages varies from carrier to carrier, as well as between shipment options. Before planning to ship your package, take some time to familiarize yourself with the various options available to you. 

Third-Party Bullion Insurance

If your shipment exceeds the cap for your carrier’s insurance allotment, you can either look for a different shipping option or purchase additional insurance. Many insurance companies offer coverage for shipped packages, and this coverage is absolutely essential if you want to keep your package safe and secure from loss, theft, or damage.

When it comes to extremely valuable shipments, you may save money and improve your package’s security by opting for an armored courier service. These services are expensive, but they also come with extremely high insurance coverage and are considered the standard for shipping truly high-value shipments.

What Carriers Won’t Cover

Private carriers, including UPS and FedEx, generally do not allow precious metal shipments. Check the list of prohibited items provided by your private carrier to make sure you’re not breaking the rules when shipping your gold, silver, platinum, and other precious metals.

USPS allows the shipment of precious metals, but be sure to note the insurance limits for your chosen shipping method. 

How to Package Gold and Silver Securely

Once you’ve selected a carrier, the most important part of safely shipping precious metals is to securely and discreetly package your items. Precious metals are valuable, and you’ll want to be very deliberate in your packaging choices to make sure that your product is both secure from potential damage and shielded from would-be thieves.

To keep your precious metals as secure as possible during transit, focus on three main things:

1. Interior packaging to protect your products.
2. Outer packaging to hide the contents of your shipment from thieves.
3. Sealing techniques designed to make your package tamper-evident.

The more time you take to properly package your precious metals before shipping, the better the odds that your package will arrive at your buyer’s location with zero issues.

Inner Packaging Protects the Product(s)

The inner packaging of your shipping box protects your coins, rounds, or bars from damage during transit. Your main goal should be to limit the ability of your products to bump against one another or shake around in the box, which can scuff or scratch them.

Your dealer will likely give you instructions for how to properly package your precious metals, so be sure to follow these guidelines carefully. But if you’re shipping precious metals to a small dealer or a private buyer, here are a few tips to help you protect your products from shipping damage:

• Eliminating empty space. Use bubble wrap, crumpled paper, cotton balls, and other soft fillers to ensure that there is no empty space between your coins, bars, or rounds. Ideally, your products should be secure enough that they move little when the box is shaken.
• Avoiding product-on-product collision. Eliminating empty space also means making sure that your loose coins cannot bang against one another during transit. Whenever possible, ship groups of coins inside of secure coin holders or tubes.
• Double boxing. For added protection, many dealers recommend packaging precious metals in another box inside of the shipping parcel. This additional packaging provides a new layer of protection to your shipment of metals.

Remember, you’re shipping a considerable amount of value through the mail. If the objects in your package are not properly secured, they may bang around during transit, which can be disastrous.

Outer Packaging Hides the Contents

When it comes to mailing precious metals, the outer packaging is just about as important as the inner packaging.

As we mentioned earlier, the single biggest thing you can do to keep your precious metals shipment safe is to avoid labeling it as valuable on the outer packaging. However, there are also a few easy things you can do to improve the security of your package as you transport precious metals.

Here are some common tips for properly packaging and labeling the outside of your precious metals package:

• Don’t signal the package’s contents. If you’ve ever ordered precious metals from an online dealer, you probably already know that sellers intentionally avoid writing words like ‘bullion,’ ‘gold,’ or ‘precious metals’ on the packages they ship. This is because referencing precious metals on a package can signal to thieves that the box’s contents are valuable, which is an unnecessary added risk. Avoid mentioning the contents of the box on its outer packaging; keep inventory sheets inside the box’s interior.
• Carefully seal each seam. Using packing or filament tape, seal each seam on your box for added security. If requested by your buyer, use clear tape to secure your shipping label to the outside of the package.

As always, we recommend paying close attention to your dealer’s instructions for shipping precious metals. You can find Hero Bullion’s instructions for shipping precious metals to us on this page.

Sealing Techniques to Avoid Tampering

While true tamper-evident sealing materials aren’t strictly necessary for safely shipping your precious metals, you’ll want to take steps to make sure the box containing your coins, bars, and rounds is completely secure and sealed.

Be sure to carefully inspect your box to look for any kind of holes, damage, or improperly sealed seams. If you find any, you’ll want to seal them immediately to limit the chance of your items falling out or the box being ripped open during transit.

Precious Metal Packaging Materials Checklist

The specific materials you need to properly package your precious metals during transit hinge on which shipping method you choose to use, your buyer’s preferred shipping procedures, and other factors.

That being said, here are a few things you’ll need to make sure you have before shipping precious metals:

• Two boxes (shipping box and smaller box for the metals)
• Shipping label
• Itemized list of included products
• Shipping instructions from your dealer/buyer
• Packing tape
• Packing material (packing peanuts, soft paper, etc.)

You might also need additional materials, depending on which service you plan to use – and what your dealer or buyer is asking you to do in order to keep your package secure.

Shipping Discreetly – Never Advertise the Contents of Your Shipment

One of the simplest ways to make your precious metals shipment more secure is to avoid advertising the contents of the package on the box. You never want to write words like ‘coins,’ ‘precious metals,’ ‘bullion,’ or anything else on your package that would suggest that its contents may be valuable.

If you’ve ever ordered precious metals online, you’ve probably seen this first-hand. Many online dealers will label their boxes with innocuous names and avoid mentioning the name of their company on the shipping label.

Logging the contents of your package is also a great way to protect yourself against theft, damage, or accidental loss. If a package comes apart during transit and one of your valuable gold bars, coins, or rounds falls out, you’ll want to have a way to prove which items were originally mailed. In the case of an insurance claim, proper bookkeeping can be the difference between coverage and denial.

Some investors who regularly ship bullion even take an image of the precious metals in the box as an added precaution.

What to Never Write on a Box of Bullion

This should go without saying, but there are plenty of things you shouldn’t write on the outside of your shipment of precious metals.

The outside of your box should not say anything about precious metals. If the dealer you’re shipping to has a name with “precious metals” or “bullion” in it, be sure to take note of how they want the address lines formatted. Some dealers will ask you to use an abbreviated form of their company name in order to avoid accidentally signaling that the box is full of valuable metals.

Drop-Off, Counter Service, or Mailbox?

The right place to mail your package from depends on the shipping option and carrier you choose.

Some shipping options, such as USPS Registered Mail, require customers to ship products from an in-person USPS post office. This means no leaving the package in your mailbox, at a blue drop center, or anywhere else but an actual post office.

Dropping your precious metals package off in person at a post office can also be a great move for security reasons. Theft of packages from porches is a real problem in the United States, and shipping your package at a post office seriously limits the odds that your metals are stolen from the mailbox.

Documentation/Tracking Best Practices

Documenting and tracking your package is another important aspect of safely shipping precious metals. Whether you’re delivering your bullion across the world, throughout the United States, or even just down the street, it’s essential to monitor and track the package as it makes its way to its destination.

Aside from cataloguing the list of items in your package, make sure to write down any tracking number you’re given for the shipment. You can access tracking information for your order through most postal carrier websites, and your dealer/buyer may ask for this tracking number for their own purposes.

Below, we’ll take a look at these two tips for properly documenting and tracking your package of precious metals.

1. Record What You Shipped

Recording what you shipped is an underrated aspect of security for any person shipping precious metals. The benefit of recording exactly what you’re shipping is twofold.

First, recording the items you’re shipping is good for personal accounting purposes. It’s always a good idea to write down what you sold, who you sold it to, and the money you received whenever you sell an item. 

Second, your item manifest can be helpful in the event that your package is lost, damaged, or stolen. Without supporting documentation, your insurer may be unwilling to cover the actual value of your lost or destroyed metals. Additionally, some thieves will steal only part of a package’s contents before resealing it to conceal their crime. In the unlikely event that this happens to you, an itemized list of what was originally in the package can be invaluable in making you whole.

2. Signature Confirmation and Live Tracking

You can access tracking information for your packages through the websites of most mail carriers. Like we mentioned above, be sure to give relevant tracking information to your buyer if requested to help facilitate a smoother transaction.

Some investors prefer to get signature confirmation when their buyer receives their package of precious metals. This can be a great way to limit your liability and prevent miscommunication prior to payment settlement. Some shipping options, such as USPS Registered Mail, automatically require a signature from recipients on delivery. You can sometimes request a signed delivery service through other delivery options, although this often comes at an added cost.

3. Photograph the Contents Before Sealing

Many precious metal sellers like to photograph their precious metals in the package before sealing it. While not strictly necessary, doing so can give you additional peace of mind and provide valuable evidence in the case of an insurance claim.

For added usefulness, include a copy of the shipping label and an itemized list of your precious metals in the image you take of the items. This will give you a reference for what was in the package and where it was heading.

What to Do If Your Shipment is Lost, Damaged, or Stolen

Having a shipment stolen, lost, or damaged is one of a precious metal investor’s biggest nightmares. The good news? As long as you’ve done the prep work and shipped your precious metals safely, insurance should cover your metals in the case of loss, damage, or theft.

If your package of precious metals is lost, damaged, or potentially stolen, here’s what to do:

• File a claim with your carrier.
• File a third-party insurance claim (if applicable).
• Communicate with your buyer/dealer.
• Contact law enforcement (when necessary).

Let’s take a closer look at how to respond when dealing with a missing, damaged, lost, or stolen package.

Filing a Carrier Claim

Filing a carrier claim is one of the first things you should do once you confirm that your shipment of precious metals may have been lost, damaged, or stolen. The total amount of coverage for your package depends on your shipping method, with USPS Registered Mail offering some of the highest coverage at up to $50,000 per package.

The process for filing a claim on a missing or damaged package varies by carrier, but each carrier will require you to gather and supply them with information about your shipment. Be sure to keep any documents relating to your shipment, including your itemized list, tracking number, etc., handy to save yourself time and trouble.

Filing Third-Party Insurance Claim

If you insured your package through a third-party service, you should reach out to your insurance company to file a claim. Third-party insurance companies will often require the same information for a claim that you’d need to provide regular carriers, but they may have additional rules for what is and is not covered, so be sure to read up on these requirements in advance.

Communicate with Buyer/Dealer

It’s important for investors to continue communicating with their buyer throughout the shipping process, especially if a package may be lost, damaged, or stolen.

By the time you’ve shipped your items to a precious metals dealer, you’ll have already opened up a line of communication. Be sure to send a message, make a call, or otherwise notify your dealer if your package is encountering shipping delays or may be lost/stolen.

Some dealers require packages be shipped within a certain timeframe (e.g., five business days), so you’ll want to communicate with them in order to avoid incurring any market loss fees or other penalties.

Contact Law Enforcement (When Necessary)

Engaging law enforcement is rarely necessary if your precious metals package is missing or damaged. However, in extreme cases where you suspect that fraud or theft may have occurred, you might consider involving law enforcement, especially if your insurance company requires a police report before paying out for theft or intentional damage.

Typically, contacting the police for a missing package is only necessary if the item has been marked as delivered but stolen from a porch, warehouse, or another location to which it may have been shipped.

Your insurance company may also require that you file a police report for a stolen package as part of their required documentation in order to approve a claim. If so, you’ll need to gather all relevant information about your package, including any proof you may have that it was stolen, to forward to law enforcement.

Final Thoughts: How to Ship Your Bullion Safely

The digital age has made it easier than ever for investors to cash in on their precious metals. Most online bullion dealers will purchase gold and silver coins, bars, and rounds from customers, and some dealers offer highly competitive buyback prices compared to many local coin shops.

Shipping precious metals is a serious task, and investors need to be prepared for anything when they decide to ship thousands of dollars across the United States. Luckily, safely shipping precious metals safely just requires some common sense, a few good tips, and for stackers like yourself to take proactive steps to prevent loss, damage, or theft.

You might also be interested in:

• How to Insure Your Precious Metals or Rare Coins
• How to Sell Gold and Silver Online
• How and Where to Sell Platinum